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Just back from a cruise with Roatan as a port of call.Carnival docks at Mahogany Bay. This area ws built by Carnival and they made a beach area and there are shops here too. Looks like a new place, and although I didn't go to this beach ,others said it is really nice there. I had a private tour and the guide told us sometimes Carnival has to dock at Coxen Hole when there are high winds or bad weather.

I don't know. We went on a ziplining & beach tour, and our driver drove by Coxen Hole on the way back to the ship. I don't think it was that far, but don't remember. You might post that question over on the Ports of Call forum.

We were there in May and had to dock at Coxen Hole because of high winds (on the Dream). Someone told us it was difficult for the larger ships to dock at Mahogny Bay. We went to Tabayna Beach and did not notice any wind there. So far Roatan and Grand Cayman are my favorite ports.

And... another thing to note... If you're the only ship that is in Roatan that day, and you happen to divert to Coxen Hole from Mahogany Bay... Mahogany Bay will NOT open that day.

At least, that's what I was told when I was there.

Now I'm a little confused...isn't Mahogany Bay run by CCL? Why wouldn't it be open for a Carnival ship? We will be the only ship in Roatan when we go, now I'm wondering if I need a back up plan in case MB is closed?

and...this may be stupid...but...if the ship docks at Coxen Hole, does CCL provide transportation to MB? I think I'm picturing it as something like HMC. Probably totally off base though.

Now I'm a little confused...isn't Mahogany Bay run by CCL? Why wouldn't it be open for a Carnival ship? We will be the only ship in Roatan when we go, now I'm wondering if I need a back up plan in case MB is closed?

and...this may be stupid...but...if the ship docks at Coxen Hole, does CCL provide transportation to MB? I think I'm picturing it as something like HMC. Probably totally off base though.

If Carnival does not dock at Mahogany Bay they do not open the facilities for that day. It is about 20 minutes from Coxen Hole and there is no easy way to get passengers between places without hiring buses, etc, which would be a logistical nightmare.

Mahogany Bay is a man made location on what I think is the wrong side of the island. It was built by and is run by Carnival and is pretty much like a private island. A good place to avoid IF you want to experience Roatan.

If Carnival does not dock at Mahogany Bay they do not open the facilities for that day. It is about 20 minutes from Coxen Hole and there is no easy way to get passengers between places without hiring buses, etc, which would be a logistical nightmare.

Mahogany Bay is a man made location on what I think is the wrong side of the island. It was built by and is run by Carnival and is pretty much like a private island. A good place to avoid IF you want to experience Roatan.

We sailed on the Costa Atlantica (a Spirit class ship like the Legend) in April and we docked at Mahogany Bay. I believe that there is a place for 2 ships to dock as a Carnival ship (I don't know which one) joined us soon after we docked. It was a very beautiful little spot created by Carnival Corp. (who also own Costa Cruises and several others). It was obviously designed as another way to get Carnival's (and her sister ships' ) passengers to spend more money and is therefore very commercial. However, it would be a good and easy way to spend a beach day if you didn't want to take an excursion or planned to go back to the ship after a short visit.

We did take an excursion to Gumbalimba Park to play with the Macaws and the Capuchin monkeys. It was a fun and very beautiful park and I was very glad that we took that excursion. However, the bus trip there was an eye opener to the amount of severe poverty in Roatan - so was the "Rambo" guard at the Mahogany Bay gate. He was outfitted with machine guns and ammunition vests. I noticed armed guards EVERYWHERE on the island. It made hubby and me very nervous - especially since we were traveling with our young daughter. Even though we were glad to experience it once - because experience is the greatest teacher - we have both agreed that if Roatan is on our itinerary again, we will just stay at Mahogany Bay. I just didn't feel that safe on the island at this time. I hope that will change in the near future.

We were just on Carnival Dream and we docked in Mahogany Bay. Carnival Valor came in shortly after us and moored there, too. Lucky for us, the captain of the ship said we could extend our call for the day by a whole hour, so it was really fun to be there.

Here are some pictures:

Coxen Hole is nearby, but the guestimation of 20 minutes is probably pretty spot-on. When we were out with Victor Bodden, we saw the port there. It was empty and had Royal and NCL stairways there.